Plants, like all living organisms, are subject to mechanical forces either from their environment or from within their own bodies. For example, when the root encounters obstacles in the soil, or when rain, wind, and gravity exert mechanical stimuli on aerial parts. Endogenous forces result from the high osmotic pressure within the cell. To sense these forces, plants have evolved force microsensors embedded in their cell membrane that are mechanosensitive (MS) channels.

Many MS channels belonging to five families (MSL, MCA, Piezo, OSCA and TPK) have been molecularly identified in plants. Some of them, such as Piezo, are found in animals and plants, while others, such as MCA, are restricted to plants. Only, few of these plant channels have been functionally characterized.  I will present the basic properties of MSL10, which is predominantly expressed in aerial organs of Arabidopsis. I will then show that MSL10 activity is amplified by oscillatory stimulation at frequencies corresponding to wind-driven oscillations. Therefore, it is proposed that AtMSL10 represents a molecular component that allows plants to perceive oscillatory mechanical stimuli. Recently, we have also characterized a rapidly activated calcium MS channel (RMA) in Arabidopsis. We are currently investigating the role of this channel in root mechanosensing.

Finally, I will stress the need to reintegrate plant MS channel in the cellular-context. Indeed, MS channels described with the patch-clamp technique are characterized in the absence of a cell wall. There is a need to map membrane tension at the cellular scale in order to specifying where, and under which conditions, plant MS channels operate.